It's remarkable this still needs to be said and isn't just assumed. Considering gay people equal is still treated like a radically liberal opinion in the public discourse, it seems. Having a background in the scouts has a pretty big correlation with future success, and according to many former scouts it provides them with many skills that serve them throughout their lives. Outside of naked bigotry I don't really grasp why anyone would look to deny any young person the right to gain this experience, if they're so motivated. I wish I understood why so many people felt this way.

A lot of people forget that while the Boy Scout's national council is anti-gay, it doesn't have much in the way of enforcing that policy. My own Boy Scout troop had an openly-gay member in it, and we didn't do anything about it because there was nothing forcing us to do so. This was in Oregon though, so individual experiences may vary across the nation.